Hodgson Refuses to Call Out Kilmartin on RI Beach Contract Controversy
Saturday, August 02, 2014
Rhode Island State Senator and Republican candidate for Attorney General Dawson Hodgson has so far remained quiet regarding the Rhode Island State Police investigation into the state beach concession contract what was awarded to former state Democratic Party chairman David Caprio.
The state's Republican party -- and its two candidates for the state's highest office -- have decried the contract, which was originally awarded to State Representative Peter Palumbo before he withdrew his bid -- and then was hired by Caprio, as reported by WJAR-10.
The RI GOP has issued statements demanding answers from David Caprio on his sudden resignation this week, and calling for Peter Palumbo to step down.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTCranston Mayor and Republican gubernatorial candidate Allan Fung demanded that Chafee rescind the beach concession contract and vowed to prohibit state officials from future bids and called for an ethics commission investigation.
Opponent Ken Block called for an "end of political corruption in Rhode Island."
“The resignation by the Democratic Party Chairman is the most recent in a string of incidents that reflect poorly on our state,” said Block. “Now we have yet another investigation added to the State Police takeover of Mayor Fung’s police department in Cranston, in addition to Gordon Fox being run out of office by the FBI and State Police.”
Hodgson, however, has not issued any formal statement to date, apart from a communication Friday afternoon to his e-mail list.
"I am trying to show restraint here," said Hodgson, who recently received one of the top legislative scores from Common Cause Rhode Island. "Anyone who's asked me, I've said we need to deal with criminal investigation. And if it's not a violation of the code of ethics, we need to enforce the ethics code to make it one. "
"No one's paying much attention right now," continued Hodgson, of the summer months. Regarding his party's call for Rep. Palumbo to step down -- and whether he agreed -- Hodgson said, "I need more information. It doesn't look good, but I reserve my criticism."
Ethics -- and Politics -- Questions
"I've struggled with this office that's not supposed to be political, and the notion of grandstanding. People say that the biggest political thing I've done is run for statewide office," said Hodgson. "I'm trying to conduct myself as an ethical candidate and particularly on what I say and how I communicate."
"The biggest criticism I'm getting from [Attorney General] Peter Kilmartin is him saying that I can "say anything I want," because I'm not in the position he's in, that he's restrained by the office and investigations on commenting on certain matters," said Hodgson. "Quite frankly, I don't think that's true. It takes an understanding of what's allowed and necessary in the position. He can and should be saying more."
"I hope my ability to be above the fray, and apply a prosecutor's discipline to such matters as this, will resonate," said Hodgson. "Grandstanding might be more applicable towards the end of September or October, if and when we see what comes of the investigation."
Hodgson continued, "This is Rhode Island. You might be amazed that people might not see am inherent conflict of interest. Peter Palumbo's working his ass off, he's not living high off the hog, but you can't fail to miss the glaring perception of conflict of interest. If it's not a violation of the state code of ethics, it should be -- the ethics code must immediately changed."
Both the Office of the Attorney General and Common Cause cited regulation 36-14-5007 in the code of Ethics that specifically forbids members of the General Assembly to "seek or accept state employment" and later defines employment to include "services as an independent contractor".
"We defer to the Ethics Commission to make the final determination and take action, if warranted," said Emily Martineau in the Office of the Attorney General.
John Marion with Common Cause said it should be a violation. "The plain language of that suggests Palumbo's bid violated the Code of Ethics," said Marion.
Marion continued, "Interestingly, the same regulation has a one year revolving door provision that would not apply to Caprio because he left office in 2011. Further, the Ethics Commission in an advisory opinion to Representative Jared Nunes interpreted 5007 to mean that a state representative can serve as a subcontractor.
"If that rule needs to be tightened, perhaps to include subcontracting, that could happen in one of two ways. Either the General Assembly could amend the Code of Ethics to include such a prohibition, or the Ethics Commission could adopt a regulation. Back in the early 1990s the Rhode Island Supreme Court opined that the Ethics Commission has concurrent legislative authority over the Code of Ethics with the General Assembly and may adopt substantive changes," added Marion.
"What I will talk about more on the stump isn't going to be just this instance, but it's when Kilmartin ran for AG -- he said he was going to be an "Inspector General" and make sure these things didn't happen," said Hodgson. "He's not proactive, he's reactive. We need someone to comb through these contracts and see who's getting this work, is there waste, fraud, abuse."
Editor's Note: The ethics code regulation has been corrected to 36-14-5007; a previous version had 36-14-5507.
Related Slideshow: Rhode Island’s History of Political Corruption
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